It is known in the prior art to provide a hard or bare floor cleaning unit. Such floors are of a relatively unyielding and nonabsorbent nature. Some examples of these floors include ceramic tile, sealed hardwood, concrete, and vinyl. For these floors, it is often desirable to have a multipurpose cleaning unit which can be selected and used to dry vacuum the floor to pick up dirt and dust, or wet vacuum the floor by scrubbing the floor with cleaning solution and then collecting and picking it up. Also, it is desirable to first dry vacuum the floor with the nozzle assembly raised and then lower it to wet vacuum the floor. Dry vacuuming with the nozzle assembly raised picks up the large particles in order to provide a cleaner surface for wet vacuuming, thereby avoiding spreading or scrubbing the loose dirt on the floor by the squeegee or brushes. Moreover, this method minimizes the amount of dirt or hair that collects on the brushes.